For many in the world, we are heading into a new season and it is one that brings with it a debate that you don’t see with any of the three other seasons.
For many people, having completed Summer, it is now time for Autumn. For others, Fall is beginning. In the United Kingdom, you will only hear people refer to this time of year as Autumn, but in the United States of America, Fall is certainly the most popular term
Generally, Autumn is considered as the more formal term for the season in which the leaves on the trees start to turn orange and brown, the nights get darker, and the temperature begins to drop pretty sharply.
Culturally, it is a time associated with cosier evenings, hot drinks, Halloween and long walks. Autumn is the much older of the two terms and it comes from the Latin word Autumnus.
History of Autumn vs Fall
It had extensive use right from its first appearance in English writing, and with good reason: the common name for this intermediary season prior to the arrival of autumn was harvest, which was potentially confusing, since harvest can refer to both the time when harvesting crops usually happens (autumn) as well as the actual harvesting of crops (harvest).
Whilst it took place in the 1600s, the word Fall basically started to be used for this season due to the leaves falling off of the trees towards the end of it.
Both words actually became standard in England but with the desire to take over the world, the language became spread everywhere and both words became part ofAmerican English.